Remembering Her
by Windstrider97
Summary: Elsa, on her way back to the castle after the trolls healed Anna from her power, is kidnapped by a band of thieves. Elsa looses her memory and forgets who she is. Years later she enters a contest hosted by Anna for her 18th birthday... Elsanna goodness.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, Windstrider here, happy to present you with a new story. Credit for the idea goes to taikofairy from tumblr. Hope you enjoy :)**

The king and queen moved quickly through the woods, Anna's toddler body slowly beginning to warm in her mother's arms. The queen held her daughter close to her chest, aiding in warming the child. As the king and queen, with their daughters, rode back to Arendelle's castle, Elsa said absolutely nothing. She knew what she had done. She knew the full consequence of her actions. She knew that she would never get to have fun with Anna ever again because of the accident.

Her father said nothing, staring stoically onward. Her mother, atop the other horse, held Anna ever closer to her being. Elsa's tears streamed down her cheeks as she remembered the leader of the trolls say that Anna would no longer remember her powers. Elsa's powers were the thing that made Anna the happiest, filling the girl with wonder. The thought of never being able to build a snowman with Anna again made the tears stream harder down Elsa's face. Living without Anna knowing about her powers would be…

The King suddenly stopped both horses with a pull of the reigns and an soft order to the queen who did the same.

"What is it?" the queen asked her husband, who placed a protective arm around Elsa's small shoulders. Elsa, being the child she was, didn't know why her parents seemed so afraid. Elsa's eyes flitted across the forest's darkest shadows, peering between trees and branches, looking for anything that could pose a threat to her family. The forest around them was still.

Dead silence.

A rustle in the trees took everyone off guard and the king and queen both turned their heads to stare.

All at once, pandemonium broke loose as hooded figures jumped from the shadows.

"RUN!" the king roared and the queen bolted away with Anna, who was still unconscious. Elsa, clinging to her father's golden buttoned coat, screamed as they were surrounded by dark clothed men who bore swords and daggers. They slashed the horse the king and his daughter sat upon and Elsa screamed yet again as her father and she plummeted to the ground. Elsa gasped as her head made contact with a sharp rock as she hit the ground. Her mind went blank and her eyes began to roll into the back of her head. Before she passed out she caught a glimpse of her father running away with the men chasing after him into the forest. Her eyesight went blurry, she gasped, "Papa…" then shut her eyes and blacked out.

Elsa regained consciousness with her eyes closed.

She felt not her own, warm bed, but in it's stead there was an uncomfortably hard cot and a fox pelt draped over her to keep her warm. She sat up quickly, grabbing her head, clutching at her temples as a splitting pain shot down the back of her skull. She cried quietly, her eyes squeezing shut, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her first instinct was to cry out for her mother and father.

"Momma? Papa?" she called, slowly opening her eyes to observe the room she was in. It was small, cramped, and dark. A stone fireplace rested in the corner and a single candle was lit by a wooden nightstand beside her cot. She wiped some tears away and cried out yet again a bit louder this time, "Momma? Papa?" She crawled out of her bed and tried to think clearly…

Where was she? She knew she didn't belong in this place but…she didn't know exactly WHERE she belonged. As her heat beat increased she slowly tried to remember something...anything...she couldn't remember a thing. She knew she had a mother and father, but couldn't remember their faces. With jarring panic she desperately tried to remember certain simple things but couldn't. She gripped the sleeves of her blue satin dress, tears sliding down her cheeks as she tried as hard as she could to remember something-anything!

Who was she? Where was she? Why did her head hurt so much?

Elsa jumped violently when the door to the small closet sized room creaked open. Elsa pressed her back against the side of the got, gripping the sides with her hands so hard her knuckle's turned white. A girl as tall as Elsa herself poked her head in, surprising Elsa even more. The girl's hair was black as night, but her eyes were an unnatural glowing golden.

Both young girls looked at each other for a few moments and stared curiously. The other girl slipped inside the room and shut the door promptly behind her with a click, then turned and said in a hushed voice, "I shouldn't be up right now. If they find me, they'll punish me."

"Who are you?" Elsa cried out, her voice shaking, "Where are we?"

"Shhh!" the girl hushed Elsa, "Be quiet! We're…somewhere."

"S-somewhere?" Elsa asked, understanding that she had to lower her voice to a whisper. The girl thought for a moment then replied softly,

"The woods."

"The…woods?"

"Yeah." The girl whispered, moving forward and crawling atop Elsa's cot, sitting Indian style and patting the fox pelt beside her. Elsa looked at the floor nervously before crawling up to sit beside the intruder. The girls eyes glowed abnormally bright in the dim room and Elsa found it slightly strange.

"What's your name?" the girl asked quietly.

"E…Elsa." Elsa replied. At least she remembered her name. It was a start.

"And do you know where you came from, Elsa?" the girl asked.

"N…no."

The raven haired young woman paused for a minute then said, "M…me neither."

Both Elsa and the strange girl looked away from each other and shifted uncomfortably. Elsa plucked at the fir of the fox pelt beside her anxiously. The girl spoke after a few minutes of silence, "Your eyes glow kind of like mine do!"

"R-really?" Elsa stuttered, blinking a few times.

"Yeah!" the girl said softly pointing, "They're really pretty and blue!"

"Yours are very beautiful too." Elsa replied, slowly beginning to relax. She knew she had nothing to fear from the girl, even though at first glance her eyes startled Elsa. Elsa still wished to know where she was and the answer, 'in the woods somewhere' wasn't exactly what Elsa was looking for, but she knew she would find out eventually. She would have to.

The strange girl smiled and said, "You'll be safe here. The men here are very strict but the women are…kind of also strict but slightly nicer. I heard them talking about you in the great hall…They called you someone very important."

Elsa tilted her head confusedly to one side and the girl giggled at this.

"What's your name?" Elsa asked quietly.

"Firefly." The girl replied.

"Odd name." Elsa said, "But I like it."

"I forgot my name when I woke up here…kind of like you forgetting everything else. You're lucky you remember your name." Firefly trailed off and played with her hands, "You want to know how I got my name?"

"Sure." Elsa said nervously.

Firefly held out both hands, palm up. Elsa watched them intently waiting for something to happen…

A spark.

Not a spark of fire, but electricity.

A twisting column of electricity flashed to life in firefly's right hand and it jolted around her fingers, winding in between them, then jittered up around her arm. The bolt of electricity wound it's way around the young girl's head, then back down her other arm to her other hand where it formed into a spinning ball of raw, powerful energy. It pulsated and hummed with a quick, light sound.

Elsa was mesmerized, shocked and frightened at first, but the longer Elsa stared, the more sure she was of how beautiful the power truly was. It was truly beautiful. Elsa, growing slightly bolder said, "Let me show you what I can do."

She held out her hands and smiled at Firefly eagerly, bouncing slightly where she sat. She reminded Elsa of someone dear to her heart...but she couldn't figure out who. Elsa concentrated and with little effort, two bright blue spheres of winter snow erupted in both of Elsa's palms. It began to snow in the room, frost spiraling up the stone walls and into the air. Firefly, completely elated by the other girl's powers, gasped in delight and reached out to catch a few snowflakes in her hands.

"This is so cool, Elsa!" Firefly said in awe, "I wish I could make something as beautiful as this!"

Elsa smiled happily and commanded the snow and ice to dissipate. Firefly went to say something else in her excitement, but stopped and listened. Elsa did as well. From down the hall, Elsa and Firefly heard quickly approaching footsteps. Elsa was startled yet again when Firefly jerked impossibly fast and hopped under the bed in one smooth motion. Elsa, looking back and forth from her cot to the door, quickly made a last minute decision to act like she was still sleeping. She quickly dove under the fox pelt on the cot and shut her eyes tightly, laying on her side away from the door. Listening to the approaching footsteps of the figure, Elsa squeezed her eyes shut and clung to the pelt. Her breath hitched when she heard the doorknob turn slowly and the wooden door creak open.

Boots clicked against the floor and began to near the bed. Elsa felt a shadow hovering over her and she tried her very best to look asleep. She felt a hand press against her side and heard a soft, gentle whisper,

"You're safe here, little one. I know you're awake."

Elsa said nothing, and the voice, a female voice, said nothing more. The woman who had spoken to Elsa moved away from the bed and back toward the door. She paused a moment to look fondly at the little girl dressed in a blue royal dress with a black headband in her abnormally light platinum blonde hair.

Firefly, pressed against the stone floor under Elsa's bed, watched her mentor's boots as she went to exit the room. Firefly began to crawl out from under the cot, but not before her mentor saw her.

"Firefly…" her mentor sighed, "Come with me."

Firefly flinched and her shoulders slumped as she crawled out fully from underneath Elsa's cot and plodded after her mentor. She stopped right before she exited the room, turned and said, "See you tomorrow, Elsa!" then shut the door. Elsa lay very still for a long while. Tears came once again and slid down both cheeks. Elsa wanted her mother and father and it was as simple as that. She didn't know who they were or where they were. She didn't know how to get to them. All she could remember were two figures on horses…and she knew that she belonged with them.

Elsa cried into the hard pillow and whispered, "Mama…Papa…" weakly.

The lost princess cried into the night until the early hours of the morning. Her remorse was for naught as she knew no one would care. After a while, her eyes began to sting and burn due to her many tears she shed and she was so lost in her despair that she wasn't aware of the time for there were no windows in her closet sized room. Elsa was so numb to the world by the time morning came, the opening over her door went unnoticed. Elsa shrieked as she felt a cold hand take her wrist. She wrenched her head toward the person who had invaded her room and stared into the bright, glowing eyes of firefly.

"Morning, Elsa!" she said cheerfully. When Firefly noticed Elsa's red eyes, her face fell. She reached out and brushed some tears away, "What's the matter?"

Elsa cried, "I want my momma and papa."

Firefly passed for a long moment watching her new friend cry a bit, wiping away her tears as best she could.

"I don't remember if I have a mom or dad." Firefly said softly to Elsa who stopped crying instantly, "I can't remember anything of who I used to be. I know I'm…somebody. But right now, all that matters is doing what these people tell us. Once I'm old enough to travel beyond the outer walls, I'm going to search for who I used to be without a doubt."

Elsa sadly looked at Firefly who took both of her hands and helped her to her feet, "You look exhausted."

"I didn't sleep." Elsa replied as the other girl lead her out into long stone hallways. Elsa said nothing as Firefly went onto explain where they were. It was a stone building built by members of an organization of thieves. Once Elsa knew she was in the company of criminals she grew instantly terrified. But Firefly reassured Elsa that they wouldn't hurt her. They only punished you for disobeying them, and punishment was brutal. Elsa made a mental note to never defy the men and women who lived there. Firefly told Elsa that she was being trained as a thief and that Elsa would be trained as well. Elsa didn't like that one bit and tried to pull away, but when Firefly told her that she had no choice other than to do what the men and women of the organization said, Elsa calmed a bit.

"Do you understand when I tell you that they've picked me and you specifically to carry on their work?" Firefly asked, pulling Elsa along slightly faster, "We're the trainable apprentices. We're being trained to make a living for ourselves and to sustain the order."

"A living?" Elsa said, "A living is going out and making your own money!"

"Not to these men and women." Firefly went on, "Listen, we won't become cruel and evil like the majority of the people here. You and I are good." Firefly lead Elsa down the final hallway to a large set of doors, "We'll do what these people say, and then we'll get out of here."

"How long will it be?" Elsa asked.

"No telling." Firefly replied, "But for now…" they neared the doors and Firefly slowly pushed them open to reveal a large table where men in dark robes sat, swords and daggers hanging from their belts. Cold eyes turned to glare at Elsa and she shrank behind Firefly who smiled comfortingly and stepped aside, taking her hand for reassurance.

The leader, who wore a dark read hood stood and spread his arms addressing Elsa in a great booming voice, "Welcome!"

Elsa flinched.

"Welcome to our family!"

Seventeen year old Elsa sat beneath a tree on the outskirts of the training area, reading a book she had stolen from a library. Seven years had passed since she was taken and seven years she had trained to be a thief. She was taught how to control her powers and concentrate them into attacks as well as how to wield a sword, bow, club and an axe. She was a warrior, a mighty warrior at that, displaying strength the council of the order had never seen before.

Although Elsa had excelled in every kind of form of combat, she still could not do the darker part of her training without feeling sick to her stomach. She hated to steal. She HATED it. Every other night she had been drafted by the leader of the order himself to raid a nearby village for food and money that would sustain the order for a few days, then she would be sent out again. Elsa hated ruining what hard working people had achieved.

She never grew used to the idea of stealing to be able to live. There were other ways to get food and money. Why did they have to steal? Elsa was a kind-hearted woman, never taking more than was necessary and even leaving some behind so it wasn't that great of a loss for the innocent victims. It was a hard life Elsa lived, constantly making other's miserable just for her own gain. If she could have her way, Elsa would run from that place and find a living of her own, find who she used to be… but for now she was stuck inside those walls without permission to leave.

Elsa flipped through the book she had read several times. It was a fairy tale about a princess and a prince who, in order to save her, had to defeat a massive dragon. At the end of the story, which was Elsa's favorite, the prince won a kiss from the princess and they lived happily ever after.

Elsa had often wondered if her prince would ever come and sweep her off her feet. She pondered this for a moment...

Nah.

"Elsaaaah!" came a cry from above. Elsa lifted her head and smiled broadly at what was approaching. Through the trees she saw a small cloud moving at an unnatural speed. Atop the puff of air stood Firefly, Elsa's companion and dear friend. The two, through their seven years of training had been inseparable, considered prodigy's due to their powers, and grew to be the very best of friends. Firefly had learned to control the wind and rain as well as lightning, and she often preferred to fly about on a cloud, looking over the vast expanses of forest that surrounded the place they had been kept for so long. Firefly steered her cloud down toward Elsa who slowly got to her feet, holding her book to her chest.

The girl, completely full of energy, jumped from her cloud once she hit the tree line and landed on the tree Elsa had been sitting under not moments before. Firefly jumped and hit the ground with a thud. Firefly, as she had grown, developed quick, jerky movements due to her powers. She was an incredibly fast runner and extremely accurate at shooting a bow. She was always full of energy, never endingly excited and cheerful. Her eyes were bright piercing golden, and she always had a smile on her face.

"Hey, frosty!" Firefly said, throwing her arms around Elsa's shoulders and squeezing her in a tight hug, "Sorry I wasn't there this morning for breakfast I uhh…had to go out and…"

"Fly around on your cloud?" Elsa asked, her face pressed into the rough fabric of her friend's shirt.

"Exactly!" Firefly laughed, moving Elsa back and holding her by the shoulders, "MAN you look like crap."

Elsa blinked.

"In a beautiful, icy, snowy kind of way." Firefly tried to save herself.

"You better watch your ass, Zip." Elsa said, narrowing her eyes playfully.

"I don't think I can turn around that far…" Firefly replied, straining to look at her bottom. Elsa lifted a hand to stifle a giggle. Firefly chuckled and jolted her head to the side to look toward the stone building, then jolted her bead back to Elsa who sighed softly, holding her book to her chest.

"You've been reading that book again haven't you?" Firefly asked, holding out her hand to take the book from Elsa's arms, "This is the third time this week you've read this."

"It's so wonderful, Firefly." Elsa gushed, "It's a story of true love and fighting dragons and saving princesses and…Oh, it's just so wonderful."

All the while Elsa was talking about the book, firefly was thumbing through the pages absentmindedly, too naturally impatient to read.

"It just makes me feel so-"

"That's great!" Firefly cut Elsa off, slamming the book shut and throwing it over her shoulder to Elsa who scrambled forward and caught her precious tome, holding it to her chest protectively, "Let's go get some grub, I'm freaking starving."

Elsa rolled her eyes, smiling after her friend who was walking quickly toward the stone building. Elsa, with a sigh, followed her friend through the training yard into the house where they both made their way past their bedrooms to the dining hall. Upon arriving, Firefly made a massive entrance by summoning a thunder clap as she slammed the doors open and shouted, "I HAVE ARRIVED!"

Elsa mentally face palmed as the entirety of the dining hall turned to stare at the lightning girl. Some chuckled and others shook their heads. Elsa, walking behind the strutting teen, hunched her shoulders forward and lowered her head. Firefly lead Elsa to the lunch line where they would be fed. Elsa grabbed a tray and swept it by the counter where Firefly was standing, addressing the apathetic cook with a smug tone of voice, "Yeah, uh, I'll take some caviar and escargot with a side of filet mignon, a dash of sea salt and pepper on that please and don't skimp on the escargot. I like my snails."

The woman stared daggers at Firefly who held out her plate with a massive grin. The cook threw a piece of bread, a hunk of cheese and then a piece of meat on at Firefly and she caught them all on her plate.

"Oh good." Firefly muttered out of the corner of her mouth to Elsa, "More mystery meat."

"Don't frazzle the lunch lady." Elsa replied.

"It's deer, for your information." Said the cook as she gave Elsa her share.

"Pardon me." Firefly said sarcastically.

Elsa rolled her eyes once again and led Firefly to where they sat down at an empty lunch table. Elsa began to eat and Firefly talked to Elsa animatedly about what she saw while she was flying through the sky earlier that day. Elsa smiled at her friend as she observed Firefly's jerky movements. After a while, Elsa tuned out her friend's enthusiastic chattering to listen to other conversation's going around the room. She had always been taught to listen very carefully to everything she was able to hear and use it to her advantage.

Someone was talking about a man they had stolen from.

Another was talking about a girl they had attacked for a coin purse.

Another was talking about…Arendelle's princess's 18th birthday.

Elsa's head slowly turned as she listened to the conversation going on about the princess.

"Arendelle's going to have a contest for princess Anna's birthday!" a thief said.

"No way! Are you going to join?" another replied

"Hell no. Do you have any idea how many people there are going to be fighting for her? Massive brutes I bet!"

"What do they win?"

"I heard they get a kiss and a place in the royal palace."

Elsa's head turned completely at the mention of the royal palace. If she entered that contest, there was a chance that Elsa could win and stay in a PALACE! She could live with ROYALTY! How amazing would that be? And also…A kiss? A kiss from a princess? Elsa thought about this for a very long time, turning back to her chattering friend who was now noticing that Elsa wasn't listening.

"Excuse me, frosty do you MIND?!" Firefly shouted, waving her hand in front of Elsa's face, "I'm kinda talking to you here! What could be so important as to not to listen to me?"

Elsa paused for a few moments then said quietly,

"Princess Anna is holding a fighting tournament for her eighteenth birthday."

Firefly's eyes widened.

"They said the winnings will be a kiss and a place to stay at the castle."

"That would be awesome." Firefly said excitedly, "Imagine the cash at our disposal."

"Don't be greedy, Zip, we'll be lucky enough just to get into the tournament."

"We could sneak in." Firefly said, a gleam in her eye.

"Are you kidding me?" Elsa sighed, "We're not sneaking in."

"We're thieves!" Firefly scoffed, gesturing to herself and Elsa.

"I don't want to be a thief anymore, Firefly…" Elsa said and Firefly leaned forward to cover Elsa's mouth firmly with the back of her hand. Her eyes grew intense and she hushed Elsa silently with a finger to her lips. Only when she was certain Elsa wasn't going to say any more about it, Firefly backed away, sitting rigidly in her seat.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get in if any of these idiots heard you say that?" Firefly hissed, her voice a low whisper, "I understand you want to leave, I want to too…I guess it's just what I've been taught that made me say that."

Elsa remained quiet for a long while, then sighed, "I'm going to ask the chief about entering the tourney."

"Elsa, you haven't even thought this through yet!" Firefly said resting her hands on the table, "I mean, what if-"

"Firefly, we're seventeen years old and we've had enough training and experience to have the elder council proclaim us full-fledged members of the order. I think it's time we step out of here and try to earn a living ourselves. This could be our big chance."Elsa took Firefly's hand and went on, "Don't you see? We could live in a castle…and…also earn a kiss from princess Anna…"

"I wouldn't mind a kiss from that chick." Firefly said staring off into space, "That girl's a freaking dream!"

"Then it's settled." Elsa said loudly standing to her feet, "I'll go talk to the chief right now."

As Elsa promptly walked toward the doors that lead to the chiefs quarters, Firefly called, "YOU GONNA EAT THIS!?"

Elsa thought through what she was going to say to the chief as she walked through the long hallways of the building. She bolted up a few sets of stairs and stopped in front of the chief's quarters door. She cleared her throat, finalizing what she wanted to say in her head before entering. She knocked twice, then pushed open the door, stepped inside, and shut it behind her. The red-hooded man lifted his head from where he had it rested on his hand as he read a large book on his desk. Elsa saw the grin that spread over the man's face and grew tense.

"Ahh, Elsa." The man said, standing, "What is it, child?"

"I have a favor to ask." Elsa replied quickly.

"Speak."

"There is a tournament being held in Arendelle for the princess's 18th birthday." Elsa began as the man walked around his desk, toward Elsa, "Travelers and warriors from throughout the land will come and compete for a kiss from the princess and a place in her castle."

Underneath the hood of her leader, Elsa saw the man's eyes flash with greed upon the mention of a castle. Elsa took a deep breath and said softly, "If you would permit Firefly and I…we would like to compete for the winnings the princess has to offer."

"And what will you do if you win?" the chief asked, moving right in front of Elsa who met his gaze levelly.

"I will infiltrate her treasury and rob her of as much gold as I can." Elsa lied, "The order will be rich."

Elsa, of course, didn't intend to steal from anyone. She had just lied to the chief without hesitation. Her desperation to get out of that was finally giving her the courage to deceive the chief himself.

"Firefly and I could win, sneak in, steal as much gold and precious jewels as we can, and then get out. Think of what we could buy with all that gold." Elsa said, acting like all the other thieves around. She had learned to imitate them well since Firefly and she spent time making fun of them all. Elsa watched the chief's eyes burning into her own with intensity and greed. Lust had corrupted the entirety of the organization she had been drafted into and not for a moment had she grown accustomed to it. The chief rested a firm hand on Elsa's should and replied in a deep, grating voice simply dripping with greed, "I allow you to go. Bring back as much as you can…"

"We will." Elsa said, nearly giving away her joy upon being permitted outside the walls. Still there was the pang in the back of her mind; the fact that she had gone and gotten what she wanted through deceit was already eating away at her continence.

She backed away from her mentor and opened the door, then slipped out quickly. She let out an excited squeal, bolting down the hallway to return to the cafeteria. She was near to bursting. Underneath her footsteps, small patches of frost bloomed. She burst excitedly through the doors of the lunch room, startling a few men and women who simply shook their heads, which seemed to be their response to everything.

Elsa jumped onto her seat, catching Firefly off guard just as she was about to eat the last bite of Elsa's lunch. Watching Elsa grin madly and squirm in her seat, Firefly awkwardly set the bite of meat down on Elsa's empty tray and slid it aside, clearing her throat, "So…that was quick."

"He's allowed us to go!" Elsa squealed.

Firefly's eyes light up even more (if that was possible) and she fist pumped mouthing the word, "YES!"

Elsa giggled excitedly, grabbing Firefly's hands and squeezing them, "We leave in three days!"

"Aww." Firefly sighed, "We have to wait that long?"

"It's only three days!" Elsa said happily, "They'll fly by!"

"If you say so…" Firefly sighed, smiling, "Now, do you want to go out and spar?"

"Yeah…" Elsa then noticed her empty plate and Firefly shifted nervously, letting go of Elsa's hands.

"You know what." Elsa smiled, "I ain't even mad. That's going to YOUR butt instead of mine."

"Thanks for pointing that out, you douche!" Firefly laughed as Elsa charged toward the sparing arena out back, "Hey frosty! Wait up!"

"Zip! Get a hold of yourself!"

"I can't!"

"You're kind of freaking people out."

Around Firefly's head, small orbs of popping electricity floated about, betraying her excitement. Elsa purposely tried to make herself apathetic to the situation but couldn't help herself when she saw the city of Arendelle. It was a cheerful city with beautiful music and happy people. Firefly didn't help calm Elsa down since she, herself, was ridiculously excited. As both girls walked toward the palace, they noticed the other competitors accumulating outside the city's gates.

"Look at that dude!" Firefly gasped, taking Elsa's arm and gesturing with her head, jerking it towards an incredibly tall man with massive shoulders and scars, "He's a hulk!"

"That guy's so skinny he looks like he'd snap like a twig!" Elsa whispered, pointing behind her back at the man.

"That guy looks like he could unlock a door with his freaking nose!" Firefly gestured with her hand at the man.

"Oh my goodness look at that woman's weapon!" Elsa pointed to the blonde woman leaning on the gate, picking her teeth with a sharp looking needle. On her back there sat a large club that was full of dents and dried blood.

"She looks like she uses that stick often." Firefly said nervously.

"Remind me not to get near her." Elsa replied, smiling playfully,

"Not like she could get near you without you freezing her ass in 2.8 seconds."

Elsa smiled and Firefly took her hand. As the gates were opened some trumpets blew, a total of 30 contestants walked into the castle courtyard. Standing beside a tall, ugly brute, Elsa averted her eyes from the many scarred and battle worn men and women. Many were taller and bigger than she was and she found them all extremely imposing. Being taught to avoid and evade all her live, knowing she would have to face these men instead of simply stealing their money and running made her slightly panic. When Elsa lifted her head to the balcony above, her mouth slightly opened, her tongue hit the roof of her mouth and her blue eyes widened a great deal.

Princess Anna of Arendelle stepped out onto the balcony and addressed everyone with a welcoming and loving smile.

"God damn." Firefly gasped, hunching forward a bit, "Look at that woman! She's a regular goddess!"

Elsa wasn't listening. The muscles in her body grew tense and her eyes locked on two teal ones who focused in on her from high above. Both women stared at each other for a few moments. The princess smiled a bit wider at Elsa and lifted a hand to give a little wave.

Elsa narrowed her eyes and blinked, then lifted an arm to stiffly wave back at the beautiful princess.

"She waved at you!" Firefly exclaimed, pulling Elsa out of her reverie, "Did you see that? She looked directly at you and freaking WAVED!"

"Y…yeah." Elsa said, not knowing what to say, "…weird."

"Welcome everyone!" Anna said in a voice everyone thought was pleasant to the ear, "Welcome to the competition! Before we begin I invite you all personally into the ballroom so I may get to meet each and every one of you!" The gates below her opened slowly.

Anna curtsied lightly, then scurried off behind the curtains into the room behind her, giggling loud enough for everyone to hear. Elsa's jaw dropped as well as Firefly's. The princess was…adorable. She was so unlike what Elsa had imagined, but despite that, Elsa loved it. She loved that she was going to fight for an exciting girl that liked to jump about rather than a cold, boring princess who liked to read and drink tea talking about politics and ball gowns.

As the crowd of warriors moved into the palace, each and every one of them looking around in amazement at the marble pillars and floors, Firefly and Elsa looked at each other and smiled excitedly, both saying the same thing through eye contact: "WE'RE IN A FREAKING CASTLE!". The warriors were directed into a large ballroom where a throne was set at the very end of the room. As the last person filed in, the doors were closed behind them and a heavy man in a tux walked up onto the slightly raised platform saying with a great gesture towards a side room, "Introducing, princess Anna of Arendelle!"

The crowd began to clap and the princess actually slid into the room…on her socks. She wasn't wearing shoes like a good princess should, she was wearing socks. And that interested Elsa greatly. Anna, much closer now than before, slid up to the throne where she plopped down and crossed her legs, putting her head in her hand and gesturing toward herself, smiling excitedly.

"…This chick is weird." Firefly muttered.

"She'd act just like you if you were royalty." Elsa replied, mesmerized with the princess.

"I guess I do kind of slide around on socks…"

"You slide around everywhere."

"Honestly, Frosty!"

"Shut up, it's your turn!"

"What?! OH!" Firefly jumped to attention, moving jerkily toward Anna who looked her up and down, eyes widening she slightest bit. Firefly approached her stiffly and her eyes flitted back and forth, everywhere but the princess's gaze.

"And who might you be?" Anna asked, smiling beautifully.

"F…firefly." The woman said, nervous to be talking to such a person of importance, "B…but Elsa calls me Zip."

"Who's Elsa?" Anna asked, peering behind Firefly. Firefly turned and pointed stiffly to Elsa who had turned her back on the princess to observe the competition scoping out who she thought she could beat or not.

"She's my best friend." Firefly rambled on, "She's a bit feisty in the sparring arena but she's an overall good person."

Anna giggled lightly, "Tell me…why are you're so…"

Firefly lifted an eyebrow and Anna mimicked firefly's jerky movements with her arms.

"Oh that!" Firefly said, snorting unceremoniously, "You'll see why I move quickly once the fighting starts."

Anna tilted her head completely confused, smiling nevertheless, "Well I wish you the best of luck."

Firefly nodded stiffly, then skidded off the stage to trip over a few people on her way to the buffet table lined with food for the taking. Anna turned her eyes toward the platinum blonde and cleared her throat lightly.

Two ice blue eyes came in contact with Anna's teal yet again and the princess beckoned Elsa forward shyly. Out of all the warriors in the room, this platinum blonde woman was the most attractive. The warrior woman strode confidently up to Anna, bent down on one knee, took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. A strong blush covered Anna's cheeks and Elsa stood to her feet, bowing politely.

"My name is Elsa, my lady."

"Okay, um…you're gorgeous…" the princess said, slightly awkward, "Wait what?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Elsa smiled.

"Oh! I'm Anna!" Anna said nervously, "Um…"

"I know who you are, my princess." Elsa went on, chuckling, "I understand that the winnings of this tournament will be a kiss from you and a place to stay?"

"T…that's pretty much it, yup." Anna replied, biting her lip and putting a strand of loose hair behind her ear, "I wish you the best of luck and I…"

Elsa lifted an eyebrow and shifted a bit to the side where she stared at Anna, taking in her every feature as much as she could in the short time she had with her. The princess had freckles that dotted her cheeks and her green dress fit her nicely…nicer than Elsa could've imagined.

"N…nothing." Anna said, playing with her braid, "I'll talk t-to you later okay?"

"Until then, my lady." Elsa said, bowing once more. Before Elsa could move off of the platform completely, Anna held out a hand and said, "Wait!"

Elsa turned slightly to look at the princess out of the corner of her eye.

"D…do you like chocolate?" Anna asked nervously.

"I love chocolate." Elsa replied, then she turned and walked toward her friend who was piling as much food on her plate as she could. Anna watched her go, not paying any attention to the next warrior who approached her.

Elsa leaned on the table beside Firefly and let out the breath she had been holding, "Was I smooth?" she asked her best friend, "Did I look smooth? Did I use that sexy voice you told me about? Did I kiss her hand too awkwardly? I told her I liked chocolate, what was that supposed to mean? Is that some kind of meaning for something? Zip, are you listening?"

Firefly was, in fact, too busy with finding the most delicious looking food on the table as fast as she could and taking as much as she could without getting shouted at. Elsa sighed and leaned against the table, "She's amazing, Firefly..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw the ballroom door opening and in stepped a woman with the wildest hair she had ever seen. The redhead woman who bore a bow, strode through the warriors proudly, holding her head high and smiling confidently at each one of them. She stepped in front of the next warrior in line to meet the princess without consent and walked straight up to Anna.

The woman bent down and kissed Anna's hand just as Elsa had done not moments before, and said in a loud voice so that all could hear, "I am Merida, first born of the clan Dubroch, and I am here for your competition miss…"

"Anna." Anna said, completely taken aback by the girl's impulsiveness. Firefly turned her head to stare at the wild redhead then turned to Elsa who's cheeks had turned red with anger. ELSA was supposed to sweep the princess of her feet, not this random woman who dared to show up late. Elsa wasn't about to let some silly redheaded archer get in her way.

Elsa squared her shoulders and firefly saw a fire ignite in her eyes.

"Oh shit." Firefly said in a hushed voice, "You just got the crazy eyes, Frosty."

"I don't like her." Elsa growled.

"She shouldn't be that big of a problem." Firefly said, turning back to the table of food. As Elsa watched Merida and the princess talking lightly she frowned and thought.

_I hope not. _


	2. Chapter 2

Firefly and Elsa sat silently in a tent outside the castle's main doors. Elsa, sharpening her daggers with a whetstone and Firefly, checking her bow's string, pulling it back then letting it go with a twang, tried to distract themselves until the competition was to officially start. After the princess had met every one of the contestants, they were led back out into the courtyard where several tents had been set up for them to sleep in overnight if they should pass round one of the contest. Elsa and Firefly were allowed to stay in a tent of their own.

As they awaited their first battle of the day, Elsa and Firefly sat on their cots in silence, continuously checking their weapons over and over, saying nothing. Firefly cast Elsa a bright smile every so often and Elsa simply responded back with an amused grin. They had been so distracted for so long, when the trumpet blew for the beginning match to start, Elsa and Firefly were startled. Firefly jumped and sparks flew about her head while a thin sheet of frost covered the dagger in Elsa's right hand. Firefly and Elsa paused momentarily before getting to their feet and walking out into the openness of the courtyard. A circular arena had been formed in the middle of the area and off to the side, there was a raised platform in which the princess sat, watching with intense excitement.

Firefly crossed her arms roughly as the man who had introduced Anna in the ballroom stood again to speak to the contestants, "The rules to this contest are simple," the man announced, "There is to be no cheating, and no giving harm to anyone much more than simple cuts and bruises. No killing will be permitted. The match will last until one of the two opponents is beaten. Disqualification will occur if any of you break the rules. This is a civil contest, therefore, it should be treated as such."

Elsa glanced at Firefly out of the corner of her eye and smirked to see that Firefly was smirking directly back at her.

"Civil competition, my ass." Firefly scoffed, and Elsa giggled. As the announcer went onto explain the precautions that needed to take place in the tournament, Elsa's eyes scanned the crowd, looking at each and every ugly brute around. Then her gaze fell on the princess. Elsa tensed up when she realized that Anna was looking at Merida. The Scottish woman was carving something into the wood of her bow using a dagger, not listening to the man announcing the rules. Elsa's blood began to boil as she saw a faint, small smile cross the princess's face.

Firefly's eyes flitted from the princess, to Merida, then back to Elsa where they remained for a few moments, narrowing slightly.

"Man she really gets you ticked off." Firefly said softly to her friend. Elsa clutched the daggers in her hands and set her jaw, determination making her bristle. Firefly looked again at the Scottish woman and tilted her head.

"You know," Firefly continued, rubbing her chin, "Personally I don't think the chick looks half bad."

Elsa didn't reply.

"Let the first contestants step forward!" the man cried, silencing the area. The courtyard was silent until a deep, roaring shout rumbled from one side of the ring. A massive man with a steel, two handed sword on his back, hopped over the fence and into the round arena where he savagely beat on his chest one time with a huge, mighty fist, wordlessly challenging anyone to dare come and face him. His face was covered in battle scars and his chest was bare save for a huge, claw mark scar. He was so tall that a normal man would have to tilt their head back to look him in the eye…

"I've got this thing." Firefly smiled. When Firefly began to step forward, Elsa held out a hand and grabbed Firefly's shoulder before she could move any closer to the ferocious brute in the middle of the ring.

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked, concern in her voice, "You don't want to injure yourself right away. We have a TON of fighting to do, you know."

"Please." Firefly scoffed, "Leave this to me, Frosty. I've handled worse on a simple food raid back at the stone house. Also, everyone here knows I'm with you! If I make an impression, they'll know you'll have something even more spectacular up your sleeve."

Elsa nodded in approval and Firefly squared her shoulders, jumping over the fence, approaching the big man as he looked about. As the man beat on his chest a second time, challenging the contestants on the outside of the ring, Firefly approached him from behind and reached up, standing on her tip toes to tap him on the shoulder. The brute turned slowly to glare at her over his shoulder. Elsa scoffed as the man underestimated her friend immediately by her size. Elsa knew that this guy had no idea what he was in for.

"Are you ready!" the man beside Anna called to Firefly and the massive man who stood before her.

"I'm ready if you are." Firefly said to the massive warrior, rubbing her hands together.

"Stop talking." He growled in a voice so deep it rumbled through his chest.

"Well pardon me." Firefly scoffed, "At least I don't sound constipated."

"FIGHT!" the announcer cried and immediately the man unsheathed his two-handed sword and swung it directly at Firefly's head. The people around the area watched in complete and utter fascination as Firefly simply blinked and she seemed to spontaneously disappear out of the way of harm faster that the human eye could detect. As the man struck down on nothing but air, he stumbled forward the slightest bit and Firefly reappeared again behind him, smiling smugly.

Anna sat forward in her seat as Firefly turned her, flashed a dashing smile, then aimed a kick at the man's rear. Firefly kicked him as hard as she could. The man barely stumbled, he simply stood erect, then turned, his shoulders blocking out the sunlight above. The lightning wielder wasted no time. She grabbed the metal sword in the man's large hand hand, took a deep breath, and focused every last ounce of her energy onto the conductive metal...

Searing electricity surged through the metal and into the warrior's body, singing his hair and causing him to spasm roughly, the electricity jolting through his system. When Firefly knew the man had had enough, she relaxed her grip and gently pulled the two handed sword out of the brute's hands, tossing it aside. The war torn warrior fell to his knees before her. As Firefly's opponent landed on his face in the dirt, there was a long, stunned silence from the crowd.

"Well," said firefly, looking around, "That was quick."

The crowd erupted in loud, boisterous cheering. Elsa clapped vigorously for her best friend and Firefly, after basking in her victory for a few moments, walked jerkily back to Elsa as assistants helped the injured man away.

"Awesome job, Zip!" Elsa laughed, lifting her hand for a high five as she approached.

"He was about as slow as you are in the morning." Firefly remarked, high fiving her, "That was a freaking cakewalk."

"Next competitor, step forth!" the announcer called loudly. A large woman with an axe climbed into the ring and looked around for someone to challenge her. Elsa's eyes scanned the crowd to look for anyone who was willing to take on the challenge this time. Her eyes rested on Merida who was still absentmindedly carving away at her bow. Elsa, bothered by Merida's indifference to the situation, stepped forward to show everyone what she could do, but she was intercepted by a man with a club.

"FIGHT!" the announcer called and the two began their battle.

"You look a bit stressed." Firefly said to Elsa amid the thudding of weapons and cries of effort, "What's up?"

"It's nothing that important." Elsa replied, her eyes resting on Merida once more, "It's just…we're fighting here and all that girl is doing is carving her bow. She's not watching the fight, she looks like she doesn't even care. She's just sitting there."

"Why are you so concerned about her?" Firefly asked curiously, "Are you afraid of her or something? She looks like she doesn't have any powers. And even if she did, I hardly doubt she could beat you."

"I'm not so sure." Elsa sighed, "I just feel something off about her…and just because we have powers doesn't make us invincible."

"But I know for a fact that we won't be defeated, ice block head." Firefly said, reaching up to knock on Elsa's head, "How about this: in a few rounds, I'll challenge this chick to a fight. THEN we'll worry about her, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Firefly." Elsa said, rubbing the back of her head slowly, "I know you'll win though. That was some impressive shit out there."

"Thanks!" Firefly replied, crossing her arms, "Besides you, I don't think there's anyone here I can't beat."

In the ring, the man and women had bludgeoned each other to near death. Only when the woman got a lucky hit in with the blunt edge of her axe to the man's side did the match end. A new match was started and unbeknownst to Elsa, Firefly's attention was diverted from the ring toward the smell of food coming from somewhere nearby. Despite the importance of the competition taking place, the raven haired woman wandered off absentmindedly in the direction of the smell, leaving Elsa alone to watch and observe.

The next match between two men lasted for a bout fifteen minutes, all the while, Elsa noted how they moved and struck, memorizing every detail in her mind and thinking of ways to exploit weaknesses. The one man had a small twitch in his left ankle, most likely due to an injury that had left it permanently damaged. If they were to meet in the ring by chance, Elsa thought of ways she could get him unbalanced using his weakness…if she could do that, taking him down should be easy. When that match was finished, ending in a crushing blow to the gut from one man to the other, the next started, then the next. Elsa, never breaking concentration, studied each opponent, weighing the odds in her mind. She was so engrossed with the happenings in the ring, she didn't noticed Firefly's absence.

Meanwhile, Firefly had wandered through the crowd of people, bumping passed murderous looking people who looked like they wanted to tear her head off. Deciding to be a nuisance she smiled politely and waved at every one that gave her a particularly angry looking scowl. Unable to find the food that had distracted her in the first place, Firefly gave up her search and wandered right up to Merida who was still carving away at her bow. Firefly leaned down and observed the redhead's craftsmanship from over her shoulder.

"So…" Firefly said, startling the Scottish maiden, "You like carving, huh?"

"Who are you?" Merida asked in surprise, clutching her bow close to herself.

"First of all," said Firefly, sitting down on the soft grass beside her, "I don't bite. My name's Firefly."

"Weird ass name." Merida commented rudely as she went back to carving her bow.

"I didn't come the whole way around the ring to say hi to you for nothing." Firefly said, thinking quickly, "I see you like bows." She unsheathed her own bow and held it out for Merida to look at, "I crafted this thing myself. Pretty epic right?"

Merida cast a wary glance at Firefly out of the corner of her eye. The wild haired woman thought for a long moment, observing the honesty in Firefly's eyes, judging her on the openness of her actions. Merida, never breaking eye contact with Firefly, reached out and took the expertly crafted metal bow from Firefly's hands and held it delicately, narrowing her eyes and running her fingers across the smooth surface.

"I've never seen a metal bow before." Merida said, "You said you smithed this yourself?"

"Yup!" Firefly smiled proudly, "It's made of a metal that expands and gets stretchy when you heat it."

"So…" Merida said, pulling the string to Firefly's bow back and testing its strength, "You use your fancy electric powers to make it stretchy and they you use it to shoot arrows?"

"Yeah." Firefly answered, smiling, "It's pretty cool to look at, huh?"

"That's pretty badass." Merida said, handing Firefly's bow back to her and holding out her own for Firefly to observe, "My father made this bow for me."

"It's beautiful." Firefly complimented, taking the bow delicately in her hands and looking at the beautiful carvings that had been made by Merida herself, "The carvings are beautiful as well."

Merida smiled and said, "The bow is enchanted as well."

Firefly, remembering what Elsa said about something seeming different about her, scooted closer to Merida as she went onto explain, "See, I-it's kind of a long, boring story that would take me forever to explain so…long story short, this bow was enchanted by the spirit of a bear."

"A…bear." Firefly said in slight hesitance.

"Yeah." Merida replied, reaching forward to show Firefly the markings, "It was enchanted with a spell that wards off harmful magic."

Firefly's eyes widened and she lifted her head to look into the fiery eyes of Merida. The Scottish girl's finger's brushed against Firefly's and rested on the bow's handle. Firefly looked down at the markings again, unable to hold the young woman's gaze for long.

"Want to try your luck against this thing?" Merida asked smugly, noticing the sudden flash of fear in Firefly's eyes.

"N…not at the moment to be perfectly honest." Firefly replied, keeping her voice level, "I'm going to need time to prepare if I'm going to face off against you and your...magic repelling bow."

Merida loved the sound of that and as firefly stood, clutching her own bow close to her chest, Merida said in a voice that Firefly couldn't decide if it was taunting or kind, "Come back to talk to me any time…Firefly."

Firefly paused, smiled stiffly, waved, and walked away quickly, making a deadline for Elsa who was leaning against the fence observing the fight, her cold, calculating blue eyes taking in every single move, every moment, flittering across the battle scene with an intense glare.

"Um…hey, Elsa." Firefly said, walking up nervously.

"Oh." Elsa said, her concentration breaking for the first time in a while, "Where were you?" Elsa looked at her friend curiously, "And why do you have your bow drawn?"

"I went to go find food," Firefly said and Elsa rolled her eyes and smiled, "But ran into Merida instead." Elsa's smiled faded and she turned her head to look at her best friend with intense curiosity, wordlessly asking her what they talked about.

"Well, it just so happens that she has some kind of magic deflecting bow." Firefly said nervously, "So…yeah…you were right about her being...a threat."

Elsa's cold eyes locked in on Merida from across the courtyard. The Scottish woman was watching Firefly with a small smile on her face, her eyes half closed. Elsa glared at Merida, but the woman paid no heed to Elsa and responded with a wave when Firefly smiled back at her nervously.

"This is going to go to hell." Firefly said out of the corner of her mouth.

"I severely doubt that." Elsa said confidently, squaring her shoulders, "Next fight, I'm going in there."

"For real?!" Firefly squealed excitedly, clasping her hands,"YES! Oh my god! This is going to be amazing!"

Elsa smiled at her friend and unsheathed her daggers from her belt, checking the sharpness of the blades. Firefly put her bow around her shoulder and waited impatiently for the current fight to be over so the real show, in her opinion, could begin. Firefly shifted back and forth on her feet, watching Elsa's hands closely, waiting to see the faintest glimpse of the amazing power Elsa possessed, impatient to witness the beauty of her ability.

When the two competitors in the ring finished their fight and the looser was carried off to the medic's tent, Elsa took a deep breath. Firefly's breath hitched in excitement and Elsa took a few steps forward, set her hand on the fence, then jumped over it and walked slowly into the middle of the ring. Everyone around the ring stopped talking. Everyone became completely silent, looking at the strange girl who looked more like a model than I threat. Anna, who had become bored from the start of the competition, was suddenly interested and she clasped her hands together in anticipation.

Elsa looked about her, waiting for someone to challenge her...

When she heard the heavy sound of a younger man jumping over the fence, she turned, her cold eyes locking in on the man. He held a sword in his right hand accompanied by a shield on his left arm. He was adorned in full battle armor, the only thing exposed were his underarms. Elsa looked him over quickly, assessing the situation and deciding where to strike.

As the man approached Elsa turned fully to face him with a smile, "hello."

The man didn't reply.

Anna, atop her chair, though it was odd of the woman to greet her enemy in such a friendly manner. Despite that, she smiled as she watched Elsa smiling when the man greeted her shakily back with a nod of his helmeted head.

"Are you ready!" The announcer called.

Everyone in the clearing was silent then, including Merida, watching eagerly to see what the lightning girl's companion was capable of. Firefly leaned over the side of the ring, sparks of electricity flying about her head, popping this way and that. Firefly bit her lip as she noticed Elsa's eyes brighten significantly.

"FIGHT!"

Elsa and the man stood stock still, rigid, tense. Elsa smiled slightly as she let some of her contained power loose. The ground below them grew cold and wet…then hard. Snow began to flurry through the air, spiraling from above. Everyone watched in awe as Elsa unsheathed her daggers from her belt and created two, long ice blades with jagged edges using the daggers for the base. The ground turned to solid ice and the man, too distracted by the falling snow around him, was unaware of his feet being frozen to the ground.

"You might want to be more aware of your surroundings." Elsa said to the young man who looked down at his feet, jaw dropping, "My apologies. I'm sure you're a wonderful fighter, but to save time and to make this less painful for the both of us I'm going to make this quick and-"

To Elsa's surprise, the armored warrior took a swing at Elsa, and Firefly squealed with excitement from the sidelines as Elsa lifted a forearm that was instantly covered in rock hard ice. The blade slammed into the ice and stuck there, stopping centimeters from her flesh. As the young warrior struggled desperately to get his blade loose, Elsa commanded a sheet of ice to creep along the sword's edge to the handle where her opponent cried out as the sword fused to his hand.

In his pain, Elsa's competitor thrust his shield directly toward Elsa. She simply sidestepped away from the attempt of attack, spun lightly, pulled the sword that was still stuck on the ice covering her forearm, took the man with it, pulling him roughly out of his immobilized spot in the ice. Elsa, with a massive amount of strength, slammed the poor boy down on the rock hard ice that covered the ground below and melted the ice on her forearm, letting the blade fall with a clatter beside him.

"Forfeit?" Elsa asked her competitor sadly, bending over the man as he moaned pitifully, "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"I-I'm not giving up!" the man shouted, struggling to get to his feet. Elsa stood back and let the man stand once more. The ice wielder tilted her head as he grabbed his sword from the ground and charged her full force. He, due to his metal boots having no traction on the ice, slipped and skidded forward. Elsa lifted her chin and a small wall of ice rose from the ground just in time for the man to slam face first into it where it shattered and dissolved into snow. It covered the young warrior like a blanket, then Elsa refroze it as he struggled to get free.

Anna, the whole time, was absolutely rapt by the display. Firstly, the princess was impressed by Elsa's strength of course since she had just pulled a fully armored man out of a sheet of ice, and nearly flipped him over her head. Secondly, Anna was impressed by how kind Elsa was to the man, actually looking sorry for the young warrior as he struggled to hold his own against her. But thirdly and most importantly, Anna was impressed by the magnificent beauty of Elsa's power. When the woman had covered the arena in ice, Anna immediately noticed something familiar about the color. She couldn't place it, but she knew she had seen the specific color before. The snow that had billowed around the princess rested on her eyelashes and nose, making her smile. There was a sense of peace in the air made from Elsa herself as the fight was declared over.

The arena burst into loud cheers as Elsa moved back to Firefly who was cheering the loudest out of them all. With each step Elsa took, the snow dissipated and evaporated into the clear, summer air. Firefly helped her companion over the fence and threw her arms around Elsa's shoulders squeezing her so tightly, Elsa had to hold her breath for a few seconds as she was lifted from the ground.

"Holy crap, Frosty!" Firefly squealed excitedly, setting her back down, "That was freaking AMAZING!"

"The competition today is over!" the announcer called above the noise, "You may retire to your tents for the evening to prepare for tomorrow! Congratulations to the winning competitors!" Elsa nodded to no one in particular, ignoring Firefly's enthusiastic ranting about her performance in the ring.

"It was SO epic when you just pulled him out of the ice like that and then you freaking SMASHED his face into the ground!" Firefly was saying excitedly, following Elsa back to their tent, "But the best part about it was that princess Anna was watching the whole entire time!"

Elsa smiled happily at this and turned to look at the princess. Elsa's heart pounded when she saw Anna was already watching her from her chair, her head in her hand. When Anna noticed Elsa turning to look at her, Anna sat up straight and bit her lip. Elsa looked into Anna's eyes, then waved to her. Anna blinked a blushed a light shade of pink, waving back. Elsa grinned, turned to look at the slightly jealous firefly, and put her arm around her best friend's shoulder, leading her back to the tent. Firefly, dismissing what just happened as a minor thing, chattered away.

"And then, when you froze him on the ground, MAN I was FREAKING the heck out! You have NO idea how awesome you looked out there Elsa, I mean, no one here compared to how spectacular-"

"Did Merida see the fight?" Elsa asked suddenly, pausing outside the tent's entrance. Firefly pressed her lips together tightly and replied in a low voice,

"She was watching, yes."

"And?"

Elsa's cold eyes stared directly into Firefly's golden and the ice wielder's companion took her hand saying, "As much as I know you would like me to, I can't read her mind, Elsa."

"I know." Elsa sighed, "I know, but…"

The girls walked to the tent where cots were. Elsa left her thought unfinished as she sat down heavily, slightly worn from the day's events and excitement. Firefly, leaving the conversation to rest as well unceremoniously flopped back onto her cot and stretched, yawning loudly. Elsa took off her belt, along with her daggers and threw them aside, laying down to stare at the ceiling of her tent, listening to her friend stretch a few times, groaning loudly. When she was finished, Firefly sighed and chuckled softly, turning her head to look at Elsa who lifted a hand and summoned a small cloud of snowflakes to play with.

Firefly went to say something, but instead chose to watch Elsa. As Elsa relaxed into the cot, a peaceful look crossing her face, Firefly was put to rest. As long as she knew Elsa was calm, she was calm. Firefly turned onto her stomach, pressed her face into the pillow and passed out into a deep sleep in seconds. When Elsa heard the snoring coming beside her she chuckled knowingly and continued to play with her snowflakes.

The sun set below the horizon and as it began to grow dark, Elsa's eyelids began to droop. She turned over onto her side and rested her cheek on the pillow, watching the steady rise and fall of Firefly's back on the cot adjacent to her own. As Elsa's eyes began to shut, she heard a slight rustle outside the tent's entrance. She sat up immediately, alert and ready for some kind of ambush. Perhaps it was that red-haired archer coming to kill her off before they could face each other in the ring…

Elsa swung her legs over the side of the cot and stood to her feet, reaching down to grab a dagger off of her belt that she had so carelessly thrown aside earlier. A shadow made itself known by creeping up in front of the tent flap. Elsa moved forward quickly and threw the flap back, pointing the dagger at the intruding figure.

The woman who stood before Elsa shrieked in fright, then covered her mouth with both hands, eyes growing impossibly wide. Elsa took a moment to take in the sight of the princess before she relaxed and tossed her dagger back into the tent over her shoulder. Elsa silently stepped outside, slamming the tent flaps together, turning and bowing hastily to the princess before whispering, "What the hell are you doing here, princess? You can't be out here after hours can you?"

"No one said I couldn't be." Anna replied, smiling, "And watch your language please."

"I'll do my best." Elsa replied as the younger woman looked her up and down with a curious gaze, "Now, uh…might I ask why you're out here?"

"Uh?" Anna asked, mesmerized by the woman's striking blue eyes, "What? OH! No, I uh…was just umm…"

Elsa tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms, watching the stuttering princess as she tried to say some kind of coherent sentence…

"I wanted to see you…" Anna eventually stuttered and Elsa's heart stopped for a fraction of a second.

"Why?" Elsa asked.

"N-no reason I just wanted t-to, uhh…" Anna stuttered, pulling on her braid, "Just c-come with me."

Anna reached forward and gently took Elsa's cold hand, leading her away from her tent. Elsa turned her head to look back at the tent where she knew Firefly was sleeping. She bit her lip, then looked to Anna as she was tugged along though the many tents in the courtyard. Anna brought Elsa with her around the side of the castle and lead her into a well-kept garden area where the moonlight shone off of a little pool in the middle of a patch of tell, red roses.

Elsa, as Anna sat down on a bench beside the pool, looked about her nervously. Anna patted the seat beside her and Elsa sat down as far away from the princess as she could get without fall off of the bench.

"Why are you taking me here?" Elsa asked, still looking around nervously, "I…Isn't this against the rules or something?"

"No." Anna said in a comforting voice, reaching forward and taking Elsa's hands, moving her closer to herself, "Now, what was your name again?"

"Elsa."

"Please show mw your powers." Anna said eagerly, her teal eyes shining with wonder and anticipation, "Today when you fought, I don't think I've seen anything as beautiful as the snow you made."

Elsa's cheeks turned a bright red. She gave thanks for the darkness around her, hoping it aided in hiding her flushed face from the princess.

"Very well." Elsa said, positioning Anna's hands so that they were cupping the bottoms of Elsa's own. Her hands, palm up, Elsa concentrated her power like she had done so many times before...

Anna's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as two separate blue spheres of energy came to life in Elsa's palms. Above her, snow began to fall and all about their feet, small ice pillars rose from the ground. Anna watched in complete wonder and pleasure as Elsa lifted her hands and the two spheres shot into the air, spiraling around and around one another before breaking and shattering into many different pieces and fragments all through the air, reminding Anna of fireworks. Anna's breath could be seen as she gasped in awe at the beautiful sight happening around her.

Elsa smiled at Anna and tilted her head as the princess turned to look at her once more, smiling with joy, "It's…It's so wonderful Elsa, I…" Anna trailed off.

"What is it?" Elsa asked, instantly concerned as the princess's beautiful, bright face fell.

"It reminds me of something…" Anna replied solemnly, "Something I used to love very much…"

Elsa's eyes narrowed as the princess became very distant all of a sudden. Elsa took the princess's hands involuntarily. Anna sighed and said carefully, "I don't know who you are, or where you came from," Anna moved closer to Elsa, "But you remind me of someone I lost a long time ago."

Elsa felt suddenly close to the woman. She had never seen the princess before, but there was something in her eyes when Elsa had shown her her power, something wonderful, bright, and familiar. Elsa said nothing while Anna managed a smile, "I just had to see your beautiful powers again…Please, just one more time?"

"Anything for you, my princess." Elsa said gently, summoning the snow again. As Anna watched the snowflakes flutter about in the air and the ice spread along the ground, frost resting on the flowers of her garden and lingering in the air, Elsa smiled.

Elsa was very fond of Anna from the very start. She barely knew the princess, yet, she wanted to be closer to her. Anna turned back to Elsa once she was finished watching the snow fall. The princess leaned very close to Elsa, so close that the warrior could feel the princess's breath on her cheek,

"You sleep well tonight, Elsa. I-I don't want to see you getting hurt." Then Anna stood, and ran from the garden back to the castle, leaving Elsa mind boggled and strangely nostalgic. Elsa stood, looked around the garden once or twice, then began to make her way back to the tents. Upon arriving in her own tent throwing the tent's flaps back dramatically with flourish, firefly jolted awake at the sound and nearly fell off her bed.

"What the hell!?" Firefly demanded, rubbing her eyes roughly, "You just came back from...WHAT?! What? Who?"

"I'll tell you in the morning, Zip." Elsa said gently, laying down on her cot.

"but-"

"Firefly." Elsa hushed her friend, "Later."

"Well, okay fine." Firefly said moodily, turning over on her side, facing away from Elsa "Leave your best friend out of your secrets."

Elsa chuckled lightly and smiled, shutting her eyes. Despite the fact she was tired, Elsa simply couldn't sleep for most of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

"Gooooood morning, Meridaaaa!" Firefly called.

Firefly, who oftentimes was the first to wake in the mornings, had decided to take a walk around the courtyard to look for food. She, finding nothing but empty space, decided to take a walk around the castle for a while and watch the sun rise. As she was strolling through the green, open grassy areas between the front and the back of the castle, Elsa caught sight of a garden.

Moving towards it in hopes of finding some kind of food she could steal there, she moved silently and swiftly. She slipped around a few flower beds silently. As Firefly was thoroughly rooting through a bush of what looked like berries, she heard a beautiful song being sung from somewhere nearby accompanied by the occasional splashing of water. Firefly poked her head out of the bush and craned her neck around to look for the source of the singing.

When she caught sight of the damp head of Merida, her first instinct was to call out and say hello…and so she did. When the sound of Firefly's voice reached Merida's ears, the maiden, who had been washing up in the small lake in the middle of the garden, dove in head first due to her unfortunate state of not having a single piece of clothing on.

Firefly walked casually around the bush she had been rooting through and strolled up to the small lake where she stood patiently with her hands behind her back, waiting for the redhead to resurface. Seconds passed…then an entire minute. Firefly stared intently at the water, deciding whether or not she should jump in to recuse Merida or not. Firefly sat down at the water's edge and pulled some grass out of the ground while she waited.

Moments later, Merida's head broke the surface of the water and she gasped for air, splashing about, coughing and gesturing wildly for Firefly to turn away.

"Good morning to you too." Firefly smiled at Merida, "I didn't know a tough warrior maiden such as yourself needed a fancy garden bath every morning."

Merida, offended greatly, aimed a splash of water at Firefly who intercepted it with a simple flick of her fingers, electricity sparks took care of the water droplets before they had a chance to reach her. Firefly smiled again and said, "Do you want me to fetch your clothes for you, your highness?"

"Don't call me that, you fool." Merida hissed.

"Hmph." Firefly said, sitting back in the grass and crossing her legs, getting comfortable, "Well then, I guess I'm going to enjoy seeing my opponent buck naked on the second day of the tournament then."

Merida turned an even darker shade of red and sat extremely still in the water casting a murderous glare at Firefly who simply smiled back politely, patiently. Firefly never broke Merida's cold blooded gaze and kept her company as the Scottish girl silently fumed.

"You're so dead when I get out of here." Merida growled.

"IF…you get out of there." Firefly corrected, "You know I could reach down and…" she flicked her fingers a spark of electricity winding down her wrist, "Zap…"

Merida clenched her jaw as she realized what Firefly was insinuating in her dark gesture. The happy, cheerful woman had a dark side, and Merida found that…appealing. So this Firefly person had an alter ego to her…which meant she had a good and bad side. If Merida could use her to get to that ice spitting monster, it would make her job so much easier…

"If you're thinking about using me to get to Elsa, you're dead wrong." Firefly called scooting closer to the water, flicking her fingers, electricity popping and whizzing in the air, "I didn't take you for the scheming type."

"Will you just get lost?" Merida asked, reaching her last nerve as Firefly's finger came within inches of the water, electricity surging through her being...

"Nah. " Firefly said, leaning back "Better not. This is too good to miss. Maybe I should go get Elsa. Oh! Even better: Maybe she could freeze your little scheming ass in there and leave you there to thaw all day!"

"You wouldn't." Merida bristled.

Firefly thought for a moment, tapping her chin, humming quietly.

"Nah, I totally would." Firefly said getting to her feet and making her way over to the bush that had Merida's clothes hanging out to dry, "But, I guess I've tortured you enough. This made my morning so much better." Firefly took Merida's clothes and set them down beside the lakes edge smiled one more time at Merida, then turned away, waving over her shoulder.

"See you later!"

Merida waited until Firefly walked out of sight before rushing out of the lake and furiously pulling her clothes on. Seething with anger, Merida grabbed her bow and stormed after Firefly who had stopped to smell a patch of blue roses on the outskirts of the garden. Merida pulled an arrow out of her quiver and set it on the sting, pulling it back so that the bristles of the arrow brushed her cheek. She walked directly up to Firefly who was still bent down over the roses.

"Stand up, you freak." Merida hissed.

"Oh." Firefly said, nonchalantly, turning around and smiling like everything was entirely normal; as if Merida didn't had an arrow drawn and pointed directly at her chest, "Well I see you got out."

"No shit, Sherlock." Merida said pointing the arrow at Firefly's face, "You tell anyone you saw me in my skivvies, I'll come after you without a doubt and I swear by my ancestor's I'll-"

"Kill me?" Firefly asked, smiling smugly, "I'm terrified."

Merida bristled again with fury and let out an unladylike growl that made Firefly shift uncomfortably where she stood at arrow point. Firefly looked at Merida and smiled sympathetically. The maiden stared into the honest, golden eyes once more and felt her muscles involuntarily relaxing.

"If I was caught naked I would be embarrassed too." Firefly said, reaching forward and touching the bow that suddenly felt like painful fire to her touch. It's magic repelling properties made her flesh burn. Quickly, Firefly lowered the carved bow to where Merida had it pointed to the ground, "I'd be embarrassed of course, but I wouldn't threaten to shoot the person who saw me. This is a bit brash, don't you think?"

"As a matter of fact, you sparky little freak, I DO THINK!" Merida roared, letting the arrow fly where it dug into the dirt sharply by Firefly's right foot.

"I wasn't insinuating that you DON'T THINK at all, I'm just saying that…" Firefly, for the first time was at a loss for words. The angry Scottish woman was much more angry than Firefly had expected. Firefly normally relied on her wit and quick thinking to get out of situations similar to this, but this time her mind was simply blank as the redhead's searing blue eyes bored into her own.

"I…I'm sorry." Firefly said, voice wavering slightly.

Then Firefly bit her lip extremely hard and Merida's jaw slightly dropped as Firefly's hair stood on end and every muscle in the woman's body tensed. Her eyes started to glow a bight celestial glow and her black hair spiked out. Merida stepped back slightly as she felt heat radiating from Firefly in pulsing waves of energy.

"…Wha…" Merida stuttered, slightly taken aback by Firefly's display of power, "What's happening to you?"

"I…I apologized." Firefly spat.

Merida tilted her head and gave a slight sneer. Firefly, a few seconds later calmed and the pulsating, warm force disappeared, her hair fell normally around her shoulders and her eyes flickered back to their less golden state. Firefly narrowed her eyes at Merida and said, "You're insane, pointing a bow at me."

"Ok, a few seconds ago you're apologetic, but now that you see that I'm slightly surprised by your powers you think you're some tough shit."

Firefly, having had enough of this woman's attitude, stood very still for a few moments; something very uncharacteristic off her. Then the lightning shooter took a few steps toward Merida, leaned very close to her so that their faces were inches apart, and said in a low, breathy voice, "I am some tough shit." Merida flinched slightly as Firefly's lips curled into a slight grin, "And you know it."

Firefly lingered there for a few minutes staring intensely into Merida's eyes just to make sure she got the point.

When the redhead started to tilt her head, her lips parting slightly, Firefly noticed how close she actually was. Firefly's eyes shifted from Merida's burning eyes and to her slightly parting lips… Merida's fingers twitched and her hand raised to rest on Firefly's right arm, her fingers curling around her bicep. Firefly, completely taken aback by what Merida was doing and not recognizing what she wanted, was completely confused. Merida's eyes half shut and dulled, losing their fire. She leaned closer to the raven haired woman. Firefly, feeling the gentle grip Merida held on her arm, received goosebumps on her arms and she found her own mouth parting involuntarily as well.

"What the hell are you two doing?"

Firefly's hair spiked out again and she fazed right out of Merida's reach and behind a bush where she hid there for a few minutes, completely silent. Merida, surprised by her own actions and by the fact she was caught doing something that was forbidden, slowly turned to look at Elsa who was approaching quickly.

"What on the god's green earth are you two doing back here!" Elsa shouted approaching Merida who was blushing a bright red clear down to her neck,

"FIREFLY!"

Firefly zipped out from behind the bush, a twig caught in her hair. Elsa crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes demandingly at the two of them. Merida began to speak but Firefly cut her off,

"I was just looking for some food when I kind of ran into her in the garden…She was taking a bath so I decided to tease her and-"

"A BATH?!" Elsa said, her blue eyes growing murderous, "You were watching as she took a bath in the royal garden?!"

"I'm…sorry?" Firefly said, spiking out again upon her apology.

Elsa relaxed significantly and sighed, lifting a hand to rub her eyes tiredly. She took a moment to clear her head, then she lifted her head to stare at the slightly frightened redhead. Elsa took a few moments to stare at her angrily, making sure she was afraid, then said icily, "You stay away from my partner."

"I was the one who went near her first!" Firefly intercepted the blame, stepping in between Elsa and Merida, "I was the one who talked to her, Elsa, please don't do anything bad to her!"

Merida backed away a few more steps when Elsa's loving eyes moved from Firefly to stare hardly at her yet again, striking fear into her heart. Elsa reached forward and took Firefly's shoulder and pulled her forward, guiding her away.

When the two magic wielders had disappeared behind the side of the castle, Merida let out a massive breath she was holding and looked down to the arrow that was stuck in the ground. She sighed sadly and picked it up. She shouldn't have acted so harshly. She had been embarrassed, yes, but she definitely shouldn't've made the woman mad. When Merida had felt Firefly's arm and noticed when Firefly didn't move away when she began to lean in for a…

Merida flushed and rushed in the opposite direction from where the girls disappeared.

"What the absolute hell, Zip!" Elsa yelled, dragging Firefly back into their tent. Firefly stumbled a bit and said,

"Elsa, calm down!"

Elsa bit her lip and took a deep, breath, then Firefly smiled and giggled as Elsa puffed out her cheeks in frustration and sat down on her cot, "I woke up and you were absolutely NOWHERE! So after I was tired of waiting for you, I got up to find you, and you were out there looking like you were about to…"

Firefly tilted her head innocently and Elsa's mouth dropped open as she saw the complete cluelessness on her best friend's face. Firefly moved forward and sat down on Elsa lap leaning back into Elsa's arms. Elsa gently put her hands around Firefly's waist, pressing her face into her shoulder from behind, "You're so clueless sometimes, Zip."

"I know." Firefly sighed, "but, despite that, you love me."

"I do." Elsa smiled, "You really don't know what she was doing do you?"

"Not a clue." Firefly replied, loving how cuddly Elsa could get at any given time, "It was weird though."

Elsa harrumphed into Firefly's shoulder.

Firefly let Elsa hug her softly from behind, then she stood and opened up her arms, "Give me hugs! I demand hugs!" Elsa smiled happily, stood, then gave her best friend a loving, warm hug that Firefly didn't break away from for a long while. Elsa moved her arms from around Firefly's waist to her shoulders where she said,

"You know, Zip, Merida was trying to kiss you."

A spark erupted above Elsa's head. Then a second. Then a third. And Firefly pieced together what happened in her head. Upon the realization of what Merida had intended to do, Firefly shouted, "WHAT?!" and Elsa jolted backwards, having been shocked with a massive amount of electricity. She landed on her cot and lay for a long while, feeling the electricity leave her body. Firefly shouted again when she saw Elsa sprawled out over her cot, limp and singed.

"SHIT!" Firefly shouted, jumping on Elsa's lap, "Shit! Are you alive?! Did I freaking kill you?!"

Elsa, after a few seconds of complete silence, busted out laughing. Firefly grumbled deeply and rolled off of Elsa, lying beside her, holding her hand.

"WOO!" Elsa giggled, "Head rush!"

"Sorry." Firefly apologized, "It's just…I mean, a KISS? Why?"

"It's obvious she has some kind of attraction to you." Elsa smiled, "I mistook this for a bad thing, but it seems you had absolutely no clue what she was doing which is fine with me. But I have to warn you…" Elsa sat up and put a hand on Firefly's stomach, "Please, don't do anything stupid with her, okay? I trust you more than I trust myself and I can't let you get hurt."

"If she hurts me you'll murder her." Firefly said casually , "And what's the worst that could happen?"

"Never say that." Elsa said, "Never…say that."

The sound of the trumpet blew from outside the tent and Elsa, with Firefly behind her, walked out into the sunlight of the morning. Firefly grinned impossibly wide to find tables of food prepared for competitors to eat for breakfast. Firefly rubbed her hands together in anticipation and Elsa breathed in the smell of good food slowly, exhaling loudly, "I LOVE the smell of good food."

"This crap beats what we had to eat at the stone house any day." Firefly said, running up to the table and grabbing a plate. Elsa, however, scanned the crowd for any sign of Anna. She had run off last night without a goodbye and Elsa wanted to wish the princess a good morning. Firefly called Elsa over to the table where they received an assortment of breakfast food from the servers, then went to find a seat in the grass.

Firefly sat down first in a soft, green spot and Elsa sat down next to her, crossing her legs and placing her plate in her lap.

"You know…" Elsa said as Firefly dug into her breakfast, "This is wonderful."

"What is? The food?" the raven haired woman asked, her mouth full, "Because I entirely agree."

"No," Elsa said, then paused, "Although the food is really good. I was talking about the atmosphere of the castle. It's so peaceful, and it's got one heck of a view of the sea!"

"I can't wait to see it from the windows." Firefly smiled, "You better remember to invite me over when you win."

"How could I forget?" Elsa replied, rubbing Firefly's back warmly, "I wouldn't go anywhere without you."

"Good morning!" came a pleasant voice. Elsa, upon being greeted, turned her head to see the princess making her way through the crowd to meet her. Elsa felt a warm feeling arise in her chest and she patted the grass beside her, gesturing for Anna to have a seat.

When the princess flopped into the grass, the very opposite of what a princess should sit down in the grass like, Elsa smiled brightly and said, "Good morning to you as well, my princess. Did you sleep well?"

"As a matter of fact I did." Anna smiled back. She paused for a moment, then grabbed Elsa's hand, surprising the warrior, "And guess what I dreamed about?"

Elsa leaned forward and bumped shoulders with the princess, "What?"

Elsa smiled and Anna giggled, grabbing onto Elsa's arm, "I dreamed it was wintertime!"

"Really!" Elsa laughed, "I wonder why that could be!"

Firefly, watching as the princess and the thief were having a friendly morning chat, was completely slack jawed. The way Elsa was smiling and talking with the princess was something she had never seen Elsa do before. Elsa's tone had a soft and gentle quality, almost mimicking Anna's exactly much to Firefly's excitement.

"Did you sleep well?" Anna asked Elsa who bit her lip, deciding whether or not to tell the princess that she had, in fact, lost sleep due to the fact she couldn't get Anna out of her head…

"I kinda had a bit of trouble falling asleep." Elsa said honestly, "I…just couldn't get you out of my head."

At this, Firefly nearly choked on her breakfast and Anna lifted a hand to cover her mouth in delight, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. She giggled sweetly, leaned forward and placed a peck on Elsa's cheek.

Elsa received shivers down her spine and her goosebumps returned. She blinked for a moment, staring off into space before coming back to reality and tilting her head to smile at the beautiful princess who was now giggling like a love-struck schoolgirl.

"Well I guess I won half of what I came for already." Elsa chuckled.

Firefly awkwardly leaned close to Elsa's ear and whispered, "What…the actual…fu-"

"Ladies and gentleman!" came the announcers voice. Anna and Elsa, with Firefly, jumped to attention as they listened to the announcer who started the second day of the games for Anna's competition. Anna reached forward and took Elsa's hand gently. The warrior's callused fingers knitted with Anna's soft ones and Anna said adoringly, "I hope that you won't get hurt today."

"I won't." Elsa smiled, "But…if it's not too much to ask, may I have another kiss for good luck?"

Anna bit her lip and her shoulders slumped. Firefly nearly screamed in excitement as Anna reached up, cupped Elsa's face in her hands and kissed Elsa's forehead, holding it out for a couple seconds. Elsa's eyes shut and she grinned. Anna finished her kiss and rested her forehead to Elsa's, rubbing her thumbs across Elsa's cheeks, "Be safe…"

"I will…for you." Elsa smiled, then she moved forward and with a nod of approval from Anna, Elsa kissed her freckled cheek in return.

Firefly furiously bit down on her lip and tried to resist sparking and drawing attention. Anna let go of Elsa's face, stood, and before she had a chance to leave, Elsa stood as well, bowed like she had done in the ball room the day before, and Anna giggled, then pranced away, Elsa watching after her with a big goofy smile on her face.

"YOU…YOU…" Firefly sputtered in shock. Elsa turned and smiled smugly as her friend fought to speak. Elsa, happy as could be, moved away from firefly, gesturing for her to follow. Firefly walked jerkily alongside Elsa as she proudly held her head high, confidence restored, and completely ready to kick anyone's ass if it meant she could get another kiss from the princess.

As they stood by the fence and the competition started once more, competitors walked out onto the field and challenged other competitors. Firefly, too shocked by the day's events already, wanted to ask why the princess had suddenly become so close to Elsa. The last interaction she had seen between Elsa and Anna had been yesterday before they went off to bed, and it had been nothing more than a fond glance at each other. Then Firefly foggily remembered Elsa returning to the tent later that night. Never remembering when she left, Firefly wondered if Elsa had ever left at all…

"Umm…Frosty?" Firefly asked. Elsa was too focused on the match to notice her friend calling her name so Firefly pressed a hand on Elsa's shoulder and said her name a bit louder. Elsa shook her head and smiled, then nodded for Firefly to speak.

"Why was the princess so…" Firefly bit her lip, "Affectionate?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Zip." Elsa said taking Firefly's hands and swinging them back and forth, "Last night she came to our tent to find me! And when she did, she brought me back to the garden you were at earlier and she wanted me to show her my powers. She told me something along the lines of I reminded her of someone she lost."

Firefly looked at the ground for a long moment, thinking very hard. She flashed back to the first night they had brought Elsa to the stone house.

"She was taken from the back of an important man's horse, sir." one of the hooded figures had said. Firefly had snuck out late that night to learn more of the mysteriously dressed girl they had brought back from the woods. Firefly had hidden in the shadows just outside the door of the main room where the men of the council had talked.

"How important are we talking here?" One man asked.

"Important enough to be wearing this…" Firefly had peeked through the door to see a man throw the golden buttoned coat onto the table for the leaders to observe. Firefly then had heard someone coming down the hallway so she ran and went straight to Elsa's room where she saw the men and woman place her with strict orders of confinement.

"Zip?" Elsa asked, bringing Firefly out of her trance, "Something the matter?"

"N…no." Firefly said, shaking her head violently, "Just…zoned out a bit is all."

"Okay then! Now let's watch the fight!" Elsa said excitedly, putting her hands on the fence and returning her attention to the ring.

Firefly thought about the unimaginable possibility of Elsa being the princess of Arendelle's long lost sister. When Firefly looked directly at Elsa's face she noticed she had just the faintest hint of freckles just below her eyes, and she had the same kind of nose as the princess...

It was simply too crazy of a conclusion to draw to. Firefly immediately put it out of her mind and crossed her arms. It wasn't possible. It was just too crazy of a thing to even consider. But the more Firefly tried to put it out of her mind, the more she remember the first time she had seen Elsa. She was adorned in a beautiful blue dress…of expensive fabric…

"Hey." said a voice in Firefly's ear. The raven haired woman jumped quickly, looking around her to focus in on Merida who had snuck up behind her. The woman had her arms behind her back and was poking the ground with her shoe nervously.

"Oh! Um…Hi, Merida." Firefly said, turning awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head, "What…What's up?"

"I kind of wanted to apologize." Merida said, "For…almost shootin' you."

"Ah, no big deal." Firefly said, waving it off, "You're too cute to be dangerous anyway."

Merida's blue eyes widened, Firefly's widened as well at her own words, and Elsa turned upon hearing the statement with her mouth dropped. A blush crept its way down Merida's neck and she lifted her shoulders, hiding behind her hair. Firefly put her hands behind her back and puffed out her chest, trying to look confident.

"I…Uh…" Merida said, awkwardly.

Elsa looked between the two girls and waited for either of them to say something.

"You know what?!" Merida said, unsheathing her bow. Elsa stepped forward but balked when Merida threw it on the ground and said, "I'm just going for it because what do I have to lose?!"

Firefly went to back away but Merida grabbed her shirt, pulled her forward roughly, and as Elsa held out a hand to stop her everything went still when Merida crashed her lips against Firefly's. Elsa bristled with fury and somewhere in the crowd, someone snickered. Merida clung to Firefly's shirt tighter as she held it and Firefly's eyes slowly shut.

Elsa was about to let loose with a snow storm, but Firefly slowly lifted her hand and rested it on Elsa's arm, wordlessly telling her to calm down. Elsa responded with a loud huff of anger and Merida's hands slowly relaxed on Firefly's shirt so that they rested comfortably on Firefly's chest. Moments later, Merida broke the kiss and lingered in front of Firefly for a few moments, rubbing the bridge of her nose to the taller woman's before stepping away and saying, "Sorry, but that was our unfinished business in the garden."

Firefly was speechless and she watched as Merida grabbed her bow and ran away into the smaller crowd of people around them. Elsa was just as speechless as Firefly in those next few moments. Before either of them could say a single word, the fight behind them had ended with a thud of a body hitting the ground.

Firefly shook her head and lifted her hand to her mouth where she stayed for a minute looking like she was going to cry.

"That was freaking unexpected." Elsa said, moving forward to put her arms over Firefly's shoulders, "Are you okay? Do you want me to go freeze burn her ass?"

"No." Firefly said softly, turning to look at Elsa, "I…don't want you to hurt her at all, Elsa. Don't hurt her unless it's in the ring."

Elsa nodded slowly and Elsa shook her head in complete shock, "I can't believe she did that."

"Next set of competitors!" the announcer called.

"Let's just…watch the competition for a while," Elsa suggested, "Maybe that will get your mind off of things."

"O...okay." Firefly stuttered. Elsa and Firefly turned to look at the new competitor that had stepped forth, a medium sized man with a mace in one hand and a club in the other. He was fully armored and looked like he was ready to murder someone…

The ring around them was entirely silent until, from the far side of the ring, there was a rustle and a clanking of armor as a few people were moved aside. Then, with a hop, Merida herself entered the ring, armed with nothing but her bow. Firefly crackled with nervous energy and Elsa gripped the fence so hard ice tendrils snaked outward. Merida walked up to face the murderous man and drew her bow.

"Are you ready!" the announcer cried, his voice echoing through the air. He paused for what seemed like an unnecessarily long time in which the majority of the courtyard fell still to watch the fight. Many expected the redhead archer to be crushed…

"FIGHT!"

Faster than the duel weapon wielding man could've expected, Merida drew an arrow and fired it straight at his chest. It stuck into his armor, but not quite reaching his skin. The man looked down at the arrow for a split second, then growled, pulled it out, and charged at Merida. The redheaded warrior dove underneath the swinging axe, drew another arrow and fired it. It hit the man's helmet but it clanked off of it harmlessly, falling off to the side where it stuck to the ground.

"Come here you little bitch!" the opponent roared, charging at Merida again. This time it was axe against bow. As the man brought his axe down upon Merida, she lifted her bow horizontally to block the attack. Elsa and Firefly flinched, expecting the wood of the archer's bow to crack but when the steel of the blade fell onto the handle of the bow, the wood held strong and Merida's face pulled into a grimace the likes of which most onlookers found ferocious. When the man swung his club into Merida's exposed side using his other arm Firefly roared, "NO!"

Firefly went to run into the ring but Elsa held her back against her will.

Merida fell to her side in the dust, the bow falling with her and clattering to the floor. As she hit the ground with a thud, the people around them cheered loudly for the victor. Firefly, clenching Elsa's arm, willed the redhead to get up.

As the man lifted his arms in victory, raising his weapons above his head, Merida, knocked for a loop from the devastating blow to her side wasn't out of the game just yet. As she shifted, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, right near the left side of her ribcage. She, with effort, crawled toward her bow, her trembling fingers reaching.

As Merida succeeded in picking up the bow, drawing an arrow and propping herself up against the fence post right beside Elsa and Firefly. The archer gasped in pain and looked up to Elsa and Firefly. Firefly crouched down beside her and rested a hand on Merida's shoulder whispering in her ear,

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're anything like me you'll wanna shoot him in the arse." Merida replied, "but I have a more effective idea."

"Show me." Firefly said, glaring malevolently at the man who had struck Merida. The redhead only took a few seconds to aim…then right as the man turned, she let an arrow fly.

The one spot that wasn't protecting his flesh was the underarms. Since the man had his arms raised in the air, basking in his victory, he wasn't prepared for an arrow to pierce his right armpit. The crowd stopped cheering as the arrow sliced through the chain mail and into his flesh where it stuck fast. The man fell to one knee, clinging to his shoulder and crying out in pain. Merida drew another arrow, winked at Firefly who was buzzing with excitement, then let it fly directly into the man's backside. The contact from the arrow made the man fall forward and Merida, with much effort, pulled herself to her feet and waved to the crowd, clutching her ribs with one arm and waving with the other.

"How badly are you hurt?" Firefly asked Merida once the medics came to collect her opponent from the ground.

"I think one of my ribs is broken." Merida replied breathily, "But I'll be back on my feet before you know it, don't worry."

"That was some pretty good stuff out there." Firefly said, reaching forward and rubbing Merida's arm as the medics approached.

"Thanks, sparky…" the injured woman replied, "Come and visit me in the medical tent after dark. I want to talk to you."

"Absolutely." Firefly replied, "S-see you then."

Merida was ushered away and as soon as she was out of sight Firefly relaxed and Elsa smiled at her sympathetically.

"Not even a day into your relationship and you're worried about her." Elsa snickered.

"Shut up." Firefly laughed, "You have to admit that was impressive." Firefly smiled.

"Indeed it was…" Elsa said, her smile fading, "Indeed it was."


End file.
